On the Outside

A half-hour before the first bell, as the kids from the early buses were milling around in the hall waiting for the library to open, a robin began to assault the courtyard window.

A crowd quickly gathered. He wants in! Look at him. What’s wrong with this fucking bird? Hammering the glass with its beak & wings & ineffectual claws.

The jocks thought it was a riot. Look out, Jim — he’s after you! He’s gonna kick your ass. Then the librarian unlocked the door & everyone ran to get a seat & a newspaper, except for one girl with lank hair & clothes from the Salvation Army. He don’t want to come in, she murmured. He wants that fat thing that mocks his every move to meet him outside.